Bronze practical ideas

This list has been compiled from activities that other schools have found to work, but it is by no means comprehensive, and we are always keen to add new ideas. The tips below are broadly arranged by theme:

Sport

Sporting swap box
Set up a sporting swap box in the school library for boys to exchange and read their football match (or any other sport) programmes and memorabilia.

Book dreamteam
Get the boys (and their dads or male carers) to come up with a 'dreamteam' of books. You can discuss which qualities constitute a good team, and which books could match those.

Football tickets competition
Ask boys to write to their local club to see if they can obtain some tickets for a football match or other merchandise for the Reading Champions group, (football clubs often have unused football programmes that they will happily give to schools). Once the club has sent you tickets or merchandise, set up a reading competition for boys and use these as the prize.

Love it! Hate it!
Football-lovers say who they will be supporting for a major event, e.g. the 2011 Champions League, and why. Football-haters create a picture using any means, e.g. ICT, to show where they will escape to from the football. Create posters showing staff with their pictures and choices. Those that include a book in their picture receive more credit towards being a prize-winner.

Autobiography display
Get the boys to create a display based on their favourite sporting heroes and their autobiographies.

Role-play
Get Reading Champions to pretend to be famous sports stars who other boys could then interview about their favourite reads.

Sports day
Ask your Reading Champions to set up a stall at sports day where Reading Champions can swap books, magazines and Top Trumps cards. The stall could be general or have a sports theme.

School library

Reading wall
Set up a Reading Wall in the library where boys can recommend their favourite reads. Highlight new ’boy-friendly‘ titles in this area.

Stock selection
Make sure the non-fiction area of your library is well-stocked. Think about books that are not specifically related to the curriculum, for example, reading materials on magic tricks, jokes, wacky science experiments, Guinness Book of Records, sports annuals, autobiographies, etc.
Ask the boys to choose their own stock. They could hold a whole-school vote or, if you subscribe, you could invite them along with you to the School Library Service to select new stock.

Library monitors
Reading Champions could become library monitors. (One term’s involvement could qualify as a bronze achievement, whereas longer may equate to silver).

Themes
Reading Champions could create and plan ‘boy-friendly’ themed displays in the library, for example themes based around Dr Who, sports, cars, facts, popular music etc.

Reading Promotion – mostly bronze due to the definition

Reading groups for boys
Involve the boys in setting up a reading group. Work with the boys to find themes of books that will interest them. Possible themes include: manga, graphic novels, football and sport in general, or comics. This could be part of a bronze nomination if they help set it up, with the potential to get higher if it involves presentations or the recruitment of new members.

Posters
You can download the National Literacy Trust ‘Champions Read’ posters for free. They feature a range of famous faces, including footballers, cricketers and wrestlers. The American Library Association also sell posters featuring many different celebrities reading visit www.alastore.ala.org

A task could be for the boys to put these up around the school. Putting them in unexpected places and ensuring they are rotated regularly in order to maintain interest, should also be the boys’ responsibility.

Wall displays
Take photographs of male staff reading books, magazines and newspapers and make them into wall displays. Put the displays up in places that students would not normally associate with reading, for example the PE changing rooms.

Belly-bands
Belly-bands are a long strip of card wrapped around a book featuring promotional information. Get your Reading Champions to create belly-bands to promote their favourite reads in the school library. You will need A3 pieces of paper or card.

Reading recommendations
Get the boys to create posters of themselves promoting their favourite reads. You could use these as screensavers, posters or leaflets. Do not restrict displaying posters to the classroom or library; put them up in places they would be least expected such as toilets, sports hall, changing rooms, the canteen. Make sure you regularly rotate them to keep the boys interested.

Guinness World Records
World records are a great hook for boys. Reading Champions could create a display of unusual and interesting records around the school. If you have not already got one, buy a Guinness Book of World Records or a ‘Top ten of everything’ book, as these are always popular with boys. Entice the boys to find out more fascinating facts and display them around school. For ideas, visit www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Extreme reading
Get the boys to take photographs of themselves reading in odd or unusual situations. For inspiration, visit the Reading Champions Extreme Reading competition that we organised. Display these images around the school and offer prizes to the most original or funniest photo. This is a good way to get Reading Champions involved at the start of the project.

Graphic novels

Top reads
Get the boys to vote for their top five or top ten comic characters or comics. Make this into a recommended reading list and then get the boys to display it around the school.

Using illustrators’ work
As part of a reading club session, get the Reading Champions to look at the artwork of their favourite illustrators. You could then make displays of the Reading Champions’ favourite illustrators’ work.

Superhero alter-ego
Encourage Reading Champion boys to create their comic book or graphic novel superhero alter-egos. They could then run a 'dress-up as your superhero' reading group session, or a group session where they become their hero and promote their comic or book.

Using technology and multi-media

Website: monthly reading ambassador
Ask the Reading Champions to nominate a male member of staff every month as a reading ambassador. Make a feature of them on the school website and include their top reads and reading tips. This could constitute part of the bronze award for both Reading Champion boys and male members of staff.

Computer games
Use the boys’ favourite computer games as a hook to get other pupils interested in Reading Champions activities. You could do this by looking at why you have to be able to read to understand gaming instructions, or a list of all the ways in which reading is used as part of computer games. Each Reading Champion could then make a poster of this, or it could be used simply as an activity to make boys realise reading is relevant to their lives.

Author websites as homepages
Get the boys to organise a rota to get a different class/tutor group to recommend a great author website every month/fortnight. Set the school’s Internet home page to the chosen website. Some authors also have pages on social networking websites, which list their hobbies and latest work.

Reading blogs
As an alternative to the traditional reading diary, get the boys to set up and write in their own individual reading blogs. There are many websites that offer this facility for free, for example www.blogger.com.

Chat room
Assist boys in setting up a well monitored chat room, either within school or in conjunction with schools in the local area or further afield. Encourage them to discuss books, magazines and comics that they have read.

More detailed information and ideas can be found in our comprehensive 26-page toolkit, which can be purchased as part of the Reading Champions resource pack. Find out more.